Joe Hennig
| birth_place = Champlin, Minnesota | death_date = | death_place = | resides = | billed = Champlin, Minnesota | trainer = Brad Rheingans Harley Race Curt Hennig | debut = July 13, 2007 | retired = }} Joseph Curtis "Joe" Hennig (October 1, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and working on the Raw brand, where he is a member of The Nexus. He previously wrestled at their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). He was part of the second season of WWE NXT under the ring name Michael McGillicutty. He is the son of WWE Hall of Famer, "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. Professional wrestling career World League Wrestling (2007–2008) Hennig made his professional debut on July 13, 2007 in Waterloo, Iowa for World League Wrestling (WLW), teaming with Ted DiBiase, Jr. to defeat Dinn T. Moore and Branden Tatum by disqualification. Hennig later went on an nine-month winning streak in WLW before suffering his first singles loss to "Wild" Wade Chism. World Wrestling Entertainment (2008–present) Florida Championship Wrestling On March 31, 2007, Hennig along with his mother, siblings, and his grandfather represented his father "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig at the 2007 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony by accepting the award on his behalf. On the October 26, 2007 episode of SmackDown, Hennig teamed with Steve Fender in a loss to Jesse and Festus. Hennig signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment and was assigned to its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). On September 11, 2008, Hennig and Sebastian Slater defeated Nic Nemeth and Gavin Spears to win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship. On October 30, Hennig and Slater lost the Tag Team Championship to The New Hart Foundation (DH Smith and TJ Wilson). On November 20, Hennig challenged Sheamus O'Shaunessy for the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship but it ended in a double disqualification. A rematch was made, but Hennig was again disqualified. Hennig had another chance to win the title on December 11 when he participated in a fatal four-way match for the championship, but Eric Escobar won the match, and the title. Hennig defeated Escobar on February 26 at a TV taping and won the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship. On the April 5, 2009 episode of FCW it was announced that Hennig had suffered a serious injury and therefore he had surrendered the Florida Heavyweight Championship. After recovering, Hennig made his return to FCW in late June. Soon afterwards, he formed a tag team with Brett DiBiase known as The Fortunate Sons. On January 14, 2010, The Sons won the Florida Tag Team Championship by defeating The Dudebusters. NXT On June 1, 2010, it was announced that Hennig would take part in the second season of NXT, using the ring name Michael McGillicutty, with Kofi Kingston as his pro. He made his NXT debut on the June 8 episode, but did not compete in a match. He made his in-ring debut on the following edition of NXT, teaming with Kingston in a tag team match, where they defeated Mark Henry and Lucky Cannon. On the June 22 edition of NXT, McGillicutty defeated Titus O'Neil to improve his record to 2-0. In the first poll on June 29, McGillicutty was ranked third, behind Kaval and Percy Watson. On the July 20 episode of NXT, McGillicutty earned immunity from elimination in the next poll by completing an obstacle course in the fastest time. On the following episode of NXT, he moved up to first place in the second poll. After six consecutive victories, McGillicutty suffered his first loss on the August 3 episode of NXT, when he was defeated by pro The Miz. On August 9 the rookies appeared in a six-man tag team match on Raw, in which McGillicutty teamed with Husky Harris and Alex Riley to defeat Lucky Cannon, Kaval and Percy Watson. The following night on NXT, his team lost a rematch when McGillicutty was pinned by Kaval. In the next poll later that night, McGillicutty relinquished the first place ranking back to Kaval, slipping to second place. In the season finale on August 31, McGillicutty ended the competition in second place, being beaten by Kaval. At the end of the show, McGillicutty turned heel by attacking Kaval with the other eliminated rookies. Raw and The Nexus In October 2010, at Hell in a Cell, McGillicutty and Husky Harris disguised themselves as fans and interfered during the match between John Cena and Wade Barrett. This allowed Barrett to pin Cena and win the match, forcing Cena to join The Nexus per the pre-match stipulation. McGillicutty's and Harris' identities were revealed on the following day's episode of Raw, though Barrett claimed he had not asked for their help and refused to make them full time members of The Nexus. The following week, McGillicutty and Harris interfered in a match between Cena and The Miz, costing Cena the match and prompting Barrett to give them the opportunity to win membership in The Nexus. On the October 18 episode of Raw, McGillicutty and Harris were unable to earn a place in The Nexus when they lost to Cena and Randy Orton in a tag team match. Despite this, Barrett confirmed both he and Harris were members on the October 25 episode of Raw. New Nexus After CM Punk took control of Nexus and kicked out Wade, he put the members through a series of trials. Gabriel and Slater revolted and left with Barrett to join Corre. Punk would bring in Mason Ryan to bolster the ranks. In a tag team match against the reigning champions Big Show and Kane, Punk and Ryan interfered to allow teammates Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga to win the championships. Tag team championship MM and Otunga reigned as champions for a while, and continued on after Ryan left due to injury and Punk left due to an expired contract after winning the title. The pair would later lose their titles to the new team Air Boom, and also lost the rematch. Personal life Hennig is a third generation professional wrestler; his grandfather Larry "The Axe" Hennig, his uncle Jesse Hennig and his father Curt Hennig were all professional wrestlers. Hennig and his wife welcomed a son, Brock, in June 2009. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **'As Joe Hennig' ***''Hennig-Plex'' (Bridging cradle suplex) **'As Michael McGillicutty' ***Running one-armed swinging neckbreaker *'Signature moves' **Rolling neck snap **Running dropkick *'Managers' **''Kofi Kingston'' *'Entrance themes' **"We Are One" by 12 Stones (2010) **"This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage (With CM Punk, 2011) **'"All About the Power" (With Otunga) (2011-''present)' Championships and accomplishments *'Florida Championship Wrestling' **FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **FCW Florida Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Heath Miller (1), Brett DiBiase (1) and Kaval (1) *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' **Rookie of the Year (2008) *'World Wrestling Entertainment''' **WWE Tag Team Championship (w/ David Otunga) (1 time) See also *New Nexus *Aggressively Weird External links *WWE Profile Superstar profile *World League Wrestling profile *Online World of Wrestling profile *Gerweck profile Category:American wrestlers Category:World League Wrestling alumni Category:World Wrestling Entertainment current roster Category:Florida Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Second Generation Wrestlers Category:Hennig family Category:1979 births Category:2007 debuts Category:WWE Tag Team Champions